update on the book

I got two, maybe three, hours of sleep. Too psyched about the book. I met with Lindsay, designer extraordinaire, last night. The shape the book is taking is, well, enough to keep me from getting my required number of zzzz’s. I’m tired, but very happy!

For those of you who would like some details, here goes… The book’s title is in Lugandan, the language spoken by most Ugandans. It is made up of three sections; each of those has a Lugandan title, as well. In the first are thirty black and white images from my 2006 and 2007 trips. The second is made up of sixteen dream photos and texts from the 2008 trip. The third features twenty-one of the children’s drawings. The total number of pages in the book is 112.

The font and paper have been selected. The layout is just about complete. There will be 850 soft cover books and 150 hard cover ones. The latter will have a cloth cover with an embossed foil title and will be wrapped in a printed dust jacket. Some of the hard cover books will include either one of the featured original drawings or one of my photographs; these will be special, limited editions.

The black and white images will actually be printed as tri-tones, which means there will be three colors of inks used: black and two different shades of gray. The rest of the book will be printed in four-color. Lindsay has designed really beautiful section dividers and a great cover, all of which will be printed in four-color, as well.

The essays by Thatcher, Ann and me have been very well edited by Sam (editor/son-in-law… he plays both roles quite splendidly) and I think they really complement the images. Thatcher's and Ann's pieces are powerful.

The book goes to press on May 13th and 14th in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. I’ll go, too, to make sure everything looks just right and to sign off on each signature before it gets printed. The books will promptly go to the bindery and will then be delivered to me in time for the June 11th CTT Friendraiser/Fundraiser! All proceeds from sales of the book will go directly to CTT.

It’s been a remarkable journey and a wonderful collaboration. How lucky I am to have the opportunity to do this!